July 28, 2011

Categories:

Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh called a Chicago-Sun Times report that he owes more than $100,000 in child support "a hit piece" that was aptly timed to distract from his leading role in the debate over raising the nation's debt limit.

"It is not lost on me that a court case filed almost 8 months ago regarding a marriage that ended more than 8 years ago would be brought up today," he said in a statement. "I am the tip of the spear in this current debate, and I will be attacked."

While he dismissed the "attacks" against him are "false," the freshman Republican said he would fight them in "the appropriate venue."

"And as your Congressman I promise you that I am going to put my head down, get back to work and continue to fight for our freedoms and our children’s future. I’m not going to let some hit piece in the media deter me from that," he pledged.

Meanwhile, one of the Democrat's running for the seat in the 8th District Walsh currently occupies said the story reveals he's a hypocrite.

"I think he should pay his child support right now," said Democratic candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi in an interview with POLITICO in Washington Thursday.

"To avoid those obligations really calls into question one's priorities. This individual has been going around preaching to the rest of our country about fiscal discipline and family values and making sure that we do the right thing. I think it's the height of hypocrisy to say all that and do what he's been doing in his private life," he said.

Later in the day, Krishnamoorthi dubbed Walsh a "dead beat Dad," called on him to resign and launched a petition aimed at amping up the pressure and organizing support for his own political purposes.

Catholics United also put out word to its supporters and is organizing a protest outside of Walsh's Fox Lake office on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Walsh continued his cable news carousel to take on Sen. John McCain's critique of the tea party's hardened role in the negotiations over a debt deal.

"Let me first start out, Tom, and go after Senator John McCain in your lead. It's bizarro and insulting for a guy like John McCain, who's been here for so long. It's politicians like him that have gotten us to this point where we have a government we can't afford," Walsh said on CNN. "I mean, shame on him for saying that, for going after those of us who were elected six months ago to change the way guys like him have operated in this town forever."

Read Walsh's full statement responding to the Sun-Times story after the jump:

"

Rep. Joe Walsh's full statement:

WASHINGTON –It is not lost on me that a court case filed almost 8 months ago regarding a marriage that ended more than 8 years ago would be brought up today. We are 72 hours away from one of the biggest decisions our country has to make about its financial future. I understand why this is a story and why the media has to ask me about it. I understood as a candidate, and I understand as a sitting member of Congress that the scrutiny of my personal life will be intense. This is a tough business. It’s also not lost on me that not everyone agrees with me politically, I am the tip of the spear in this current debate, and I will be attacked.

Let me say this. I love all the members of my family past and present. I’ve always given everything I have to meet my financial obligations to my children and I will fight until my last breath against anyone who says otherwise. My children are truly the treasure of my life, which is why I’ve been trying to resolve this issue since January in a court of law, rather than drag my children into it. That is the appropriate venue and I will not discuss this private family issue in public.

The people of Illinois’ eighth congressional district voted for me not because I’m wealthy but because they wanted a fighter in Washington. They did not vote for me because I was a career politician, but because they wanted one of them as their Representative in DC. They wanted someone to stand up to Washington and tell them the spending has to stop. This morning that is exactly what I am going to continue to do.

I have tried to be the most accessible Congressman on the planet and I will continue to do so moving forward. These latest attacks against me are false and I will fight them in the appropriate venue. And as your Congressman I promise you that I am going to put my head down, get back to work and continue to fight for our freedoms and our children’s future. I’m not going to let some hit piece in the media deter me from that.

Posted by David Catanese 05:18 PM

Tags:

Share this Article

Reader Comments (51)

Pages

1

This from a man who has left a wake of unpaid debts the size of the Mississippi river behind him in his desire to be a big name politician. Of course he thinks the way to a lower the debt is for seniors and children to do without while the rich get richer.He let his own children go without his portion of their lunch money, his portion of the cost of a roof over their heads, his portion of the cost of clothes for 8 years,just to name a few of the things he thought were entitlements that could be cut out of his children's living expense budget!! It is called child support but lets rename it to something that sounds not so important like entitlements. This man just assumed that someone else would pay his part of caring for his children and told his children sorry I cant feed you this month I'm busy paying for my political campaign. He has not paid his portion of their needs to the tune of over 100,000 dollars. In cases like this with all over America with deadbeat dads, children end up in the medicaid program and mothers end up having to apply for food stamps to cover his half of the care cost for children he created AND HE WANTS TO TELL US HOW TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE?
HE SHOULD BE ARRESTED NOT GIVEN AN OFFICE AND A MICROPHONE !

How uplifting that Rep. Walsh fights for his children's "freedom" to do without their child support..........So, if the deadbeat dad claims are false, will Rep. Walsh take legal action to correct the"hit piece"?.........If not, why?

His credibility in the debt debate is less than zero given his inability to address his own personall debt in a responsible fashion. A deadbeat has no business making any decision that involves MY family.

Ever notice how these threads become very silent when it's a teabaglican caught in a moral and ethical meltdown? The Reich Wing noise machine is in the midst of a PR crisis these days...couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of *******.

I thought Joe Walsh was a nut case before, and now he is a deadbeat creep, also...He is trying to make a name for himself on all the cable shows, by acting crazy..He thinks he will pull a Palin with his BS, and become a millionaire, all the while telling other people what to do, and not paying for his own kids...This guy needs to be one of the first to go.....

Walsh must be saying things the left doesn't like for them to be this active in attacking him. I wonder how this revelation happened to show up just now. I know he is promoting something the progressives absolutely do not like...a plan to STOP GOVERNMENT SPENDING...It has little to do with whether HE has a boil on his Butt

It is absurd to make the false claim that Democrats or the media are responsible in any way for the obvious hypocrisy of Joe Walsh. There is NO excuse for not paying child support for three children. If he is not able to meet his financial obligations, he should leave his government job and earn the money necessary to meet his moral and legal obligations.
Congress needs to now take immediate action to garnish his pay so that he can indeed meet the Republican "family values" standards.

Isn't it obvious to you guys that Walsh has caught Potomac Fever? People are not going after him because he's the "tip of the spear," it's because he's a narcisscist, calling so much attention to himself, spouting things that a Junior High Civics class would know are flawed. If he was a serious politician making a serious case, this might not have happened. He painted a bullseye on himself, so nobody should be surprised that people have taken aim at it. And don't buy this 'tip of the spear' rationalization. The narcisscist will rationalize away their mistakes every time. You sent him to Washington, and he caught the fever.

Maybe they should have waited another year before they published this so called "HIT PIECE" ..... Had they waited another year it would not only be CLOSER to the election, but the deadbeat would haved owed probably closer to $135,000 instead of $117,000 !!!!!!

This is a non issue. The kids was a result of a legal contract. If you break the contract you shouldnt get anything. Also if child support is such a good thing then why dont we make ALL parents prove they pd 1/3 of their gross wages. Every parent. If they dont then take away the kids and give them to someone who will.

If the story is "false", I guess we will see a suit filed against the papers by Walsh.
I'm not holding my breath--it seems like the worst that is said about these tea party types turns out to be true, and typically worse than what was initially reported.

Newt Junior!! So Walsh does owe the child payments? If I correctly read his statement, he doesn't deny this. At first blush this may appear to be "honesty" and candor on his part. Think again. He just got caught. Don't know his history, but he probably ditched his wife and mom of his kids for a younger squeeze, and she and his new political career have occupied his thoughts - not his kids' welfare. He needs to go. Voters no longer have time for his kind of crap. We need men and women with character leading every state in this country. (Especially Illinois!)

July 29, 2011
To: Congressman Joe Walsh
“I can’t believe they’re ready to give up a credit rating that we’ve spent over 200 years building.” Quote by David Cote, CEO, Honeywell
Deadbeat dad, it turns out.
No wonder you do not care about a deadbeat government or ruining the country’s credit rating.
The resentment you exhibit in your politics and the disdain you exhibit toward others clearly is a reflection of your own failures and frustrations. Attacking real American heroes such as Senator McCain, whi has served his country his entire life, shows that the hyena truly has stripes.
Too bad you have to try to bring down our country in the process of acting out.
By the way—who is paying your $175,000 salary as a Congressman, Mr. Walsh? “Have you no shame, sir?”
Robert
Independent, VT

He's just another selfish, greedy, hypocrite scumbag in Congress!!! People are idiots for voting in politicians that have ZERO sympathy for the working-class and will do anything to protect their very rich donors. These repbublicans are not even trying to lie about their intentions. They are blatantly saying they are for the very rich and still people vote for them. IDIOT AMERICA!

So this loudmouth jerk turns out to be one more deadbeat bum shortchanging his own kids. Its incredible to see the one-term dregs that get swept in by one fluke election.
Hey Walsh, why don't you try shutting your big mouth and concentrate on feeding your kids???

Tip of the spear? More like illusions of grandeur... Deadbeat dad trying to tell the rest of America how to be responsible? Joe Walsh is a scumbag. While I am no Republican, I do respect and admire Senator McCains service and all he had to endure because of it. He has spent his entire life either in the military or in Congress, working for his country. Who the F**k is Joe Walsh to criticize someone of McCains stature, when he cant even take care of his own kids. What a complete ass.

My son's dad is a deadbeat too! In addition let us blame the legal and child services systems. I have been trying for 3 years to get my support in access of 20K and these agencies and the courts could care leass about tracking down deadbeat dads who are readily available and visible. Child Care and FamilyServices in Illinois have antiquated computer programs and the Cook County States attorney does nothing. They should also be taking employers to court who do not garnish wages and track down deadbeats and they don't. If IDES can check employment in seconds why can't these state and county agencies do that! To every parent who deserves court ordered support let us not only protest Joe Walsh , but the agencies who do NOTHING to enforce court orders withoutmaking us pay for an attorney.

Navymom, am I a deadbeat dad? I went from making a nice six figures to about 40 thousand per year. My kid is with me 4 nights per week. By court order, I was to pay $1200 per month for one kid. Each month I'd pay $500, I fell further behind. I am now about $10 grand behind, but very active in my kids life. I don't know how much time he spemds with his child (I'm taking mine fishing this afternoon).
In my case her mom is an attorney and has been fighting tooth and nail to stop me from getting a deduction.

Navymom, am I a deadbeat dad? I went from making a nice six figures to about 40 thousand per year. My kid is with me 4 nights per week. By court order, I was to pay $1200 per month for one kid. Each month I'd pay $500, I fell further behind. I am now about $10 grand behind, but very active in my kids life. I don't know how much time he spemds with his child (I'm taking mine fishing this afternoon).
In my case her mom is an attorney and has been fighting tooth and nail to stop me from getting a deduction.

Good grief, Walsh's response was one big load of excuses. And then there's this:
"A month after he won a six-way February 2010 primary, voters learned that Walsh in 2009 lost his Evanston condominium to foreclosure."
and this,
"Former campaign worker Keith Liscio, who says he was hired to be Walsh’s campaign manager, is suing Walsh for $20,000 in back salary."
Walsh can take all of his excuses -- and that "spear" -- with him when goes.

Dead beat dads account for an estimated 8 billion in back child support owed in this country. Dislike entitlement? Try going here. This guy needs to go. His history about more than even just the child support suggests he has no great character.

To Russs and Playing Dirty, you have to be the lowest of the low to excuse the actions of a DEADBEAT DAD!!! You have children. SUPPORT THEM, FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!!!! THE IS THE HEIGHT OF IMMORALITY!!!!!

The Tea Party are the "sleeper cell" in the terrorist attacks that Republicans have been pursuing against the American economy. It's not surprising that Walsh, bowing to a "higher purpose", is willing to strap an economic bomb on his kids and everyone else's. It's not HIS suicide.

So your children,rather than mine are what is important in you life as a public servant? I am watching the value of my son's college account plummet because you are uneducated, inflexible and uncompromising. I am wondering how I will pay next quarter's tuition, while you skip out on your child support. Shame on you. If you cannot be a good father, how can you be good for those of us who look to you for leadership? I have been a republican all my life, until this year. Now I want to toss the lot of you tea partiers in the Boston Harbour. I will be voting democrat in our next elections. The history of our country's greatness is built on our ability to compromise, negotiate and listen, not pontificate. Joe Walsh, you had better change your ways or your political life will be in the harbour.